Release Date: August 23 2013
Platforms: Xbox
360, PS3, PC
Developer: Ubisoft
Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
There is a moment in Splinter Cell Blacklist, a moment of dialogue
between Sam Fisher the long running franchises protagonist and Grimsdottir, Sam’s
handler throughout the series, when you realise Ubisoft’s sixth instalment in
the franchise finally gets everything right and they know it.
Grimsdottir who’s normally very calm and controlled, the voice of reason in Sam’s
ear, has gone off the reservation. She’s unsure how to proceed, afraid even,
unable to give Sam clear instructions on how to proceed because of what they’ve
just discovered. She’s overwhelmed and Sam can see the situation is quickly
unravelling. It’s here where Sam, whilst embedded deep behind enemy lines and
with time quickly running out, has to think on his feet. He begins reeling off
his plan as he spins around, back and forth covering the corners, the windows
and doors assessing his surroundings. Grimsdottir isn’t convinced the plan will
succeed and before she has chance to talk Sam out of it, he’s found his exit
strategy and strides forward uttering the immortal line…… “You forgot who
you’re talking to?”.
It’s this one line that Ubisoft may as well have been aiming
at us, the gamer as much as they were Grimdottir. For those like me who’ve
followed Sam since his first foray into the shadows back in 2002 on the
original Xbox, you’ll probably agree that although every release in the Splinter
Cell franchise has been good, until now only one has been heralded as truly
great – Chaos Theory. This has been largely due to Ubisoft trying to build upon
their superb stealth gameplay mechanics with equally impressive action
gameplay.
2010’s Splinter Cell: Conviction was the culmination of Ubisoft’s new
direction, which resulted in mixed reviews. It was received well enough but
everyone was in agreement that it was simply too action heavy and sacrificed
too many of the series well established stealth mechanics. Sam had lost his way
as well as some of his identity too, and as more and more time passed since
Chaos Theory it was getting harder and harder to see the Sam Fisher that
reignited the stealth genre back in 2002. Well it’s been three years since Splinter
Cell: Conviction, and whatever Ubisoft has been doing within the walls of their
Toronto development studio, it’s clearly been time well spent.
Splinter Cell Blacklist now introduces three modes of play, but these are
dynamic. Rather than you selecting a particular mode, you play how you want and
it genuinely works. One style isn’t any more or less effective than the other. You
might think whilst hiding in the shadows surrounded by the enemy that the
silent approach is just too risky. This calls for some guns blazing action, and
at first it may seem easy, but the adaptive AI and the implementation of enemy backup,
which sometimes doubles if not triples the number of enemies you face, soon
makes you reassess your approach.
The three dynamic game modes are referred to as Ghost, Panther and Assault.
Ghost measures your ability to complete objectives without killing a soul or
even raising an alarm. You’re like a ghost, you were never there, or were you?
Panther measures similar stats, you complete objectives without raising alarms
or alerting anyone, but you can dispatch your foes with lethal efficiency. They
aren’t just taking a nap this time, you're straight up murdering the enemy
albeit with Sam’s classic stealthy ruthless style. Assault is the complete
opposite of both the Ghost and Panther play styles, here your combat stats are
measured. You’ve no time for subtlety, just slap a breach charge on that door
and charge in guns blazing, and why not lob a few grenades for good measure
whilst you’re at it.
It’s this dynamic combination of the three gameplay styles
that makes Blacklist without a doubt the best game of the franchise, rivalling
even the mighty Chaos Theory in this humble reviewer’s opinion. After
completing each mission you’re debriefed and your actions are all broken down
into the three categories of play. The Splinter Cell perfectionists out there
will do their upmost to score maximum points as the Ghost operative, but thanks
to a healthy selection of gear unlocks and customisation options there is every
incentive to replay missions either as the Panther or Assault operative.
The campaign itself spans eleven lengthy missions, each one split into four to
five sections, they genuinely are lengthy too. During your debriefing you are
rewarded for completing missions within a certain amount of time, normally
around the sixty five minute mark although some are as high as eighty minutes.
So if you’re going for the Ghost accolade you’ll not only need to be patient
but efficient too.
I won’t go into too much detail regarding the main campaign as I feel it would
be more enjoyable and have a greater impact if you’re able to go into it
without any prior knowledge. What I will say however is that the story is
fantastic, blisteringly well-paced, well written and reminiscent of the TV show
24 staring Kiefer Sutherland.
With what is possibly the best single player campaign
Ubisoft have crafted within the Splinter Cell universe comes sixteen side
missions. These are given to you at different times during the campaign by
various characters and can be completed at any time. The missions vary from
taking down a terrorist cell to tapping communications at an embassy. What
makes them standard out is that these particular missions can not only be played
solo, but also cooperatively, either split screen or online. That brings the
total number of missions up to a whooping twenty seven, which is the most we’ve
seen in any Splinter Cell game thus far.
I guess at this point it’s only fair after giving Ubisoft’s latest instalment
such praise is that we address the elephant in the room. Michael Ironside is no
longer the voice of Sam Fisher, but you know what you won’t notice. You’ll
become so caught up in Blacklists tale of espionage and terrorism, not to
mention Eric Johnson does such a fantastic job of making Sam his own, that
after a few minutes you honestly won’t notice.
Splinter Cell Blacklist represents a fantastic return to the franchises classic
gameplay, but at the same time revolutionises the series by successfully marrying
together both its well established stealth mechanics with truly satisfying
action gameplay. As a result Ubisoft have crafted a game that encourages replay
through its three different styles of play, couple this with a vast array of customization
options, an addictive cooperative mode, competitive online mode and you end up
with one of the best games of 2013. If you had any doubts about Sam’s latest
adventure, let me put them to rest. Sam Fisher is back and he’s better than
ever.
9/10
Words by Chris
Messenger
